


A Heart Full Of Stitches

by samcroqueen



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV), Peaky Blinders RPF
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Injury, Denial of Feelings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, F/M, Injury, Inspired by Roleplay/Roleplay Adaptation, Peaky Blinders Imagines, Roleplay, Roleplay Logs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:54:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26612554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samcroqueen/pseuds/samcroqueen
Summary: "And here you are, living despite it all"Her hands are once again covered in somebody else's blood, only this time it's his.Emotions run high as Madeline struggles to remain professional when summoned in the dead of night to stitch up Alfie Solomons.Put it past gangsters and ruffians to choose the most unwelcome times of the night to go and get themselves shot up.(All content is taken from a current and active ongoing roleplay on Facebook)
Relationships: Alfie Solomons/Original Character(s), Alfie Solomons/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	1. Bullets and Blood

**Author's Note:**

> (All content is taken from a current and active ongoing roleplay on Facebook)

****_(Alfie)_ ** **

"Oh, fuckin' hell," Alfie growled in a mix of both pain and anger as he tried to carefully clean the bloodied wound on his side after Ollie brought him what he'd asked for. It wasn't the first bullet wound Alfie's had. Certainly wouldn't be the last.

He was sitting in his office at his desk, only his shirt off and hanging over the back of his seat. The wound wasn't major, just grazed him pretty good, but nothing immediately dangerous.

That's what he told Ollie, anyway, who had still decided to give Madeline a call after he'd been warned to not get anyone involved

_****(Madeline)** ** _

“Out of my way, please!!... Now would be preferable!…Jesus Christ I haven’t got all morning!” an angry Madeline grumbled as she pushed her way past the men who had gathered around the back door of the _‘bakery’_ none of them expecting to see the short and fiery-tempered witch who now pushed her way through the gathering group.

The sharp sound of her heels colliding against the paving stones signalled her arrival to those waiting in the back office. 

She was hardly dressed for such an occasion and had half a mind to show up in her slippers when Ollie had called not half an hour prior, as it was she’d only had enough time to throw on her light dressing gown and slip her feet into the shoes she had earlier discarded, hair still, a wild halo around her face, gather her bag and supplies when a black company car had arrived at her doorstep, one of Alfie’s men taking her things as she climbed inside.

The office door swings open savagely as Madeline storms inside only to be greeted by the sight of a shirtless Alfie blood staining his side and an extremely nervous looking Ollie.

“Ollie I’ll be needing some hot water if you can fetch it for me...” she says ignoring the glares coming from Alfie as she set down her things and began rolling up the long sleeves of her dressing gown “Quick as you can Lad” she reminds the boy before directing her gaze at the bloodied and irritated man before her.

_****(Alfie)** ** _

Ollie was quick to listen to Madeline, leaving to gather what she needed, and then slipping out of the office again once finished. He'd probably pay for it a bit later, but Ollie had only done what was best for Alfie by calling her here.

"I thought I fuckin' told--!" The words were cut off in a pained noise. He put more pressure on the damp cloth over his wound, swallowed hard, and looked back at Madeline.

"Come to play nurse, have you?" He asked, challenging her already even in a state like this.

_****(Madeline)** ** _

Madeline shoots Alfie a less than impressed look at his snide remark as she fiddles about with the things in her bag, before sweeping over to his side and removing the blood-soaked rag he currently held against the wound, quickly tossing the offending article over her shoulder to be disposed of later and replacing it with a clean one.

“You best mind your tongue Alfie Solomons, I have a bottle of chloroform in my bag and you best believe I will use it” she threatened, eyes growing dark, she was not in the mood to mess around.

Crouched at his side she has a better vantage point of the wound in his abdomen, still steadily leaking blood, not serious but Ollie had been right to call her, she highly doubted Ollie nor any of Alfie's other men would be capable enough to fix up the wound, let alone do a decent job. 

“What were you thinking” She muttered more to herself than him as she wiped the side of her face against her sleeve, hoping he hadn’t noticed her suddenly damp cheeks in the low light before she was pulling on one of his hands to hold the gauze at his side while she stepped away.

_****(Alfie)** ** _

Alfie's face is sweaty and the heavy, dark bruise starting around his eye didn't look good either. Both his hands are covered in a bit of dried blood but it's not clear if it's all of his own or not.

He hissed between his teeth in pain when she moved the cloth. 

  
"Fuck-- Jesus Christ." Alfie falls silent again, the stubborn kind, but he is obeying and holding the gauze as she'd wanted. He's breathing a little heavier though his nose as he rests his head back against the seat, eyes closing. 

  
"It's not like I go out and about, mindin' my own business, thank you very much, lookin' to get bloody shot. Let's just say the idiot had piss poor aim."

_****(Madeline)** ** _

Madeline’s bloody hands come down upon the heavy wooden desk angrily, the force jostling papers and ink pots and sending several items crashing to the floor, several pieces of paper now streaked with the blood from her hands.

Her face is flushed and angry and streaked with frustrated tears, as she turns her body round to regard him, not even her nightgown, is spared as she fists her hands angrily in the silky material forever making the light gossamer fabric with blood. 

“IS THIS ALL A JOKE TO YOU!” She yells angrily, hands thrown in the air

  
“When my phone rings at three in the morning it’s usually because someone’s died, and right now all of you fucking idiots seem to be dropping like goddam fucking FLIES!” Her foot strikes out to kick the end of the desk, hands wringing in her hair like a madwoman.

“First the boys go to prison and only just avoid being fuckin hanged, and then John!...” a sob wracks through her body and she has to grip the edge of the desk to keep herself steady, she'd scarcely allowed herself a moment to mourn her dead lover, father of her child, both of them now lost to her forever.

“I lost... I lost John I can’t fucking Lose you Too Alfie” she croaks, voice broken and cracked as she looks back at him.

_****(Alfie)** ** _

Alfie realized his mistake seconds after he said it. He cursed himself for not thinking first. Before he could respond, though, Madeline was on it. The damage was done, he already saw the tears coming.

He forced himself to sit upright in the seat again, gauze still held firmly to the wound as he kept silent. Alfie could only watch and listen, forced to take it all in. He hadn't ever seen her this upset before, and when her voice began to finally crack, he couldn't stay silent.

"Madeline... listen." He says gently, his voice a bit strained from the ongoing pain. The hint of concern there in his eyes is small but sincere. "I shouldn't have said that, yeah, ignore me and my big fuckin' mouth... I'm sorry, alright."

****_(Madeline)_ ** **

Years of building up walls and fortresses to hide her emotions and pain, bottling up all the anger, hatred and sadness like water boiling in a kettle threatening to bubble over finally coming to ahead.

Madeline’s growing feeling for the Jewish crime boss had been nagging at her for weeks, Johns death only making them clearer helping her to see them for what they truly were. She’d tried to burry them, knew that such feelings would only lead to pain and despair, and yet she still found herself sinking deeper into his ocean blue depths.

It was hard to make her eyes meet his, her own light pools searching for some kind of understanding in his own when she finally found the strength to look at him, concern etched into the handsome features of his face. It tugged at something buried deep inside her, feet like stone weights as she moved to kneel in front of him, dirt making the skin of her knees as her small a blood-covered hand reached up and rested atop the bare skin of his chest directly over his heart, the steady thumping beneath her fingers a slight reassurance.

Courage surged through her veins as her eyes sought out his own, trained eyes picking out the sprinkling of perspiration atop his brow and the way his eyes crinkled at the corners with each intake of breath, Madeline knew if she didn’t make her move now she’d never have the courage to again.

Before he had the chance to take another strained breath, her lips are suddenly pressed against his own. Soft and tender but laced with the fear of rejection, Madeline noted however that his lips; Lips that spouted such harsh, vulgar and cruel words in their everyday lives were surprisingly soft and cool against her own.

The moment is short-lived and almost as quickly as she is kissing him she is pulling away and turning her attention back to his injury, fear once again pumping through her blood as she began to stitch the wound closed.


	2. Blood in the water

****_(Alfie)_ ** **

Alfie wasn't sure what to expect and didn't quite know what to say other than have apologized. He was never the best in situations like this, needing to soothe someone and deal with tears, but this is Madeline, someone who meant more to him than just an acquaintance of some kind.

"... alright, look, I'm--" Before he can finish, she's suddenly there. So close, closer than she's ever been, and he can see every detail on her face, the tears in her eyes. Then it took several seconds for him to realize they were kissing. Just a careful touch, but it was soft and firm, and everything he could have imagined.

It's enough time to make him feel like his head is spinning, the pain ignored in that short moment. Her lips are softer than he thought, and Alfie's not pulling away or saying a word as he softly returns the kiss. His free hand finds her upper arm, gently resting it there just for something to hold onto.

There wasn't much time to register the whole situation before she's pulling away, and suddenly, Alfie feels the biting pain of her starting to suture the wound. "Ah, Christ... fuck--" Both hands now empty, they to the armrests of his chair, tightly squeezing the ends of them with a knuckle-white grip.

_****(Madeline)** ** _

Madeline waits for him to settle down and stop moving before pulling the next stitch, her mind currently reeling with the consequences of her actions.

She tries not to let thoughts of her lips pressed against hers or the way his hand had grabbed her arm when she had, tried not to think about how he hadn’t pushed her away or yelled at her. Instead of trying to keep her attention on her hands.

It’s easy enough after a while, the sutures are even and if he’s lucky and doesn’t fuck with her work and pull them then the scaring should be minimal.

By the time Madeline is finished, her dressing gown lies discarded over the back of a nearby chair the white sleeves well and truly soaked with blood. Stands of hair have escaped the haphazard bun she’d thrown together earlier that morning and now frame her face like curtains, a handful of strands tipped red with blood from her constant moving the hair away from her face, the nightgown she wore handprinted with his blood as she finally after nearly an hour of working, sets down her things and pushes herself up to stand.

“I’ll get Ollie to bring the car around front to take you home, you’ll need to rest” she spoke softly, wincing with pain as she stood up “When Ollie helps you stand I’ll bandage that” she spoke pointing to his side but avoiding his gaze as she wiped some of the blood from her hands.

_****(Alfie)** ** _

Alfie handles it well enough and does his best to be still as possible, only gritting his teeth and tensing up every so often. His skin is still sweaty and his breaths came a little heavy, his grip tight on the chair, but after Madeline finally finished he seems to calm down a bit.

After handling his sciatica over the years, he's grown used to being mostly silent in the face of pain and discomfort in order to hide it. He wet his lips before speaking again, his voice a bit raspy. "Yeah-- yeah, alright, bring him in."

Neither discussed the kiss again. Alfie logically assumed it would be at another time under better circumstances. Or at least he hoped so, anyway. After all of that, there's no way none of this-- whatever it was, whatever they decide to call it-- could just be ignored now.

Once Ollie had returned from getting the car to help him stand and the bandages applied, Alfie paused while being led out of his office and his eyes meet Madeline's.

"Don't worry about me, yeah? I've been through worse, this is nothin' if I'm tellin' the truth, so just-- uh, take care of yourself, too, alright?"

_****(Madeline)** ** _

Ollie takes down her instructions like a pro, even going as far as to write them on the notepad he kept on hand. In between fixing up Alfie with stitches and going out to find the young man Madeline had spent a few extra minutes explaining to him how important it was that the stitches stay both dry and clean for the next few days, the last thing she wanted was for them to become infected, but that if he developed a fever in the next day or so to call her straight away.

Whilst Ollie helps Alfie to his feet, Madeline distracts herself with packing up her things and slipping her robe back on. The events of the past hour, the kiss, his hand on her arm replaying over and over, a part of her wanted to forget it had even happened but upon turning around and meeting Alfie's hard gaze she knows that won’t be an option and she knows that sooner or later he will want to discuss what surpassed between them.

She tries her best to heed his words, giving the slightest inclination of a nod as she follows them out of the office and out to the waiting car. Ollie moves to stand beside the short women after he's loaded his boss into the car, giving his boss a slight wave as the car moves off

"Can get ya a car to take you home if ya want Maddy?" he asks her flashing a tired smile her way as he runs a hand through his dark curls.

Madeline pats his arm and smiles but shakes her head

"I think the walk home will do me some good Ollie, it’s not far" he goes to object, but Madeline shushes him with a finger to his lips

"If it makes you feel better, I’ll call the office when I get home, the last thing I need is a bunch of 'bakers' breaking down my door" she chuckles, Reluctantly and with a heavy sigh Ollie nods in agreement.

Half an hour later and one very long reassuring phone call with Ollie, Madeline finally lowers herself into a steaming hot tub of water.

It’s easy to lose track of time when your mind is processing a hundred different thoughts and pieces of information. Relaying the events of the morning over and over until cracks of light start filtering through the curtains and the water has well and truly gone cold, the water having turned pink from all the blood.

The clock on the bedroom mantel chimes six by the time she finally climbs into bed, sleep taking over minutes after her head hits the pillow.

****_(Alfie)_ ** **

Ollie had to plead with Alfie a bit to make him get some rest when he helped return him home. Only reason Alfie gave in at all, not arguing or trying to fight it-- crawling into bed and moving to a position his injury would let him be in-- is because he knew that's what Madeline would have wanted him to do.

It feels like his whole body's melting right into the mattress once he managed to get comfortable. Everything's sort of fuzzy, warm, and he can vaguely tell it's morning already by the hazy light coming through the curtain.

Exhaustion starts to take over, the tension in his lower back finally starting to fade, but before he let's sleep completely take over, Alfie stops Ollie before he's about to leave the bedroom.

"Do me a favour, yeah?" He says in a raspy voice, clearing his throat. "Not sayin' right now obviously since it's early as fuckin' hell, and I know she's probably passed out by now, but once it's been a few hours... check in on Madeline for me." 


	3. When a Baker comes a-knocking

**_(Madeline)_ **

The next few days pass quietly and slowly, Madeline busying herself with personal work keeping to herself and avoiding anyone who might spoil the blissful peace she was enjoying.

Until the first telegram from Thomas arrived, followed shortly by several phone calls when she didn't telegram back, and then Ollie had arrived with an ever so cheerful smile that heralded other motives, but Madeline had a soft spot for the kid, and so put up with his daily visits.

"It's awful boring without you around" A relaxed-looking Ollie mumbled between mouthfuls of the sandwich she'd made him.

It had become a routine she had adopted easily. Each day at 12:30 exactly she'd find him standing at her door, eventually, he just started letting himself in, almost always finding her in the kitchen kettle on the stove and food on the table.

"I'm sure it's running plenty fine over there without me, it's only been a few days, lord knows what would happen to you if I decided to go back to Birmingham " she teased and she sat herself down at the table, picking up her cup of tea as he chowed down on their lunch.

_**(Alfie)** _

Since the incident, Alfie has been healing nicely and got back to work days ago. He hadn't seen or heard from Madeline at all during that time. He hadn't reached out first because he thought he'd give her some time. He'd figured that if Madeline wanted to talk about what happened, she'd do it when she was ready.

Alfie didn't normally bother with small details, except the silence on her end has begun to make him anxious, making him wonder if perhaps he'd done something wrong.

He instead came to Madeline on his own. If not to talk about what happened, then at least to check on her to see if she was okay. He's standing on her doorstep, cane in one hand as he knocks on the door and waits.

_**(Madeline)** _

Ollie was Galway through his third sandwich a story involving a goat and a cat when the knock comes, both Madeline and Ollies heads turning in the direction of the hallway.

For a moment their eyes meet the fun and carefree moment dissolving with each second.

"You finish eating that, I'll get it" Madeline sighs her peace disrupted smooths down her skirt as she stands and walks out of the room, lighting patting Ollie on the shoulder as she brushed past him.

Each step towards the door feels as though a heavyweight were attached at her ankles as the figure behind her front door becomes clear through the frosted glass.

Halting just before the door she lets out a long frustrated sigh, she knew that she couldn't put off this conversation forever, her absence at work was being noticed both by her new boss and by her old one back home.

Reluctantly and what feels like a century later, she finally pulls open the door to reveal the imposing figure stood upon her doorstep.

"Mr Solomon's "

_**(Alfie)** _

Ollie already had a pretty good idea who was at the door. Last time he'd spoken to Alfie was earlier this morning. Recently, Alfie's been quiet lately, always looking lost in thought any time Ollie checked on him, like his mind was somewhere else entirely, which becomes an immediate sign that something is off. Ollie knew better than to go asking, though.

When the front door opens, Alfie looks a tad bit relieved. His gaze is momentarily drawn to something over her shoulder, his head tilted slightly, and after a moment his eyes focus back on her.

"Madeline." He says, echoing her and keeping his tone casual. "... mind if I come in?"


End file.
